Until Time Runs Out
by emnemip
Summary: Reizo has been killed on a cruise ship! And now there's been a series of mysterious murders. Who could be the murderer? (Based on the UTAU visual novel by Kream-Cheese, YOI-kun, KotoneHaruka, and Doubie. Reizo, Rena, Haruka, Haruo, Shizuka, Sonata, Setsu, Jet, Sora, and Akie belong to their respective owners.)
1. Prologue

Setsu

Setsu gazed up at him. "So-ra," she sang, pressing her finger lightly on his back. "Let's play a game of cards! We can go to the main hall..."

Distractedly, Sora shrugged her off. "We can talk later, Setsu. I'm busy."

"B-but, you promised me yesterday!" Setsu whimpered.

"Later, later. Oi, Sonata," he turned, directing his attention to Sonata, the maid. Sonata was talking to Jet, but quickly ran over to her master's call. Sora muttered, "Where's Reizo..?"

Sora then scampered off to Reizo's room, leaving Setsu behind, all alone.

_Why won't Sora listen to me?!_ she pouted angrily. _If only Reizo wasn't here…_

Rena

"Heeey, Reizo~" Rena chirped happily at her fiance. "What do you think of this one?" She twirled around in a black-laced dress, full of frills and ribbons.

"Uh-huh," Reizo mumbled, not taking his eyes off of his sheet music.

Rena frowned. This was the fifth time today. Reizo was always so absentminded whenever she was around.

"Oh, come on. At least look at it!" Rena whined.

"Wait, I'm busy…"

"You're always busy!"

Reizo looked up at this sudden outburst. He frowned. "Can't I at least read in peace?"

"Reizo, you never pay attention to me! You're always busy doing something, and you never even have time for your own fiance!" Rena's voice quivered.

"Agh, just leave me be! I need to finish this song!" He picked up his violin and started playing, obviously wanting Rena to leave him alone.

_Why won't Reizo listen to me?!_ Rena sobbed as she left his room. _He never pays attention… How annoying!_

Haruka

"Ha. Ru. Ka!" A pair of arms wrapped around Haruka's waist.

"Haruo! What are you doing?" Haruka asked him, ducking out of his grasp. She carefully steadied a tea cup in her hand. "Weren't you studying in the lounge?"

"I came to see you, my dear Haruka!" Haruo smiled at her as hugged her again, pulling her backwards.

_Crash!_

"Oh, now look at what you've done! I dropped Rena's china cup!" Haruka sighed, exasperated, mopping up the spilled tea off her dress. Shizuka, the butler, quickly ran over to pick up the glass shards.

Haruka cried out, "Now what am I going to say to her?!"

"Sorry, Haruka. I didn't mean to. She can just buy another one. Now, let's go to the upper deck! I want to see the sunset with my pretty Haruka!"

Haruka glared at him, shaking angrily. How could Haruo be such a carefree idiot?! That china cup must've cost hundreds! Why didn't he care?! "Agh, Haruo! I won't go to the upper deck with you! I'm going to wash my dress now!"

_What am I going to tell Rena now?! That china cup was given to her from Reizo!_ Haruka stormed off to her room. _Rena's so lucky! She's always so happy with Reizo… I'm so jealous…_

Sora

Sora practically skipped down the hall. After all, it was time to see Reizo~~!

Suddenly he bumped into someone. "Excuse me," he grumbled, backing away.

"No, it was my fault," the person said, hurrying away.

_How strange_, Sora thought to himself. _That person was coming from Reizo's room… Huh…?_

Sora had just thought up of something interesting.


	2. Chapter 1

"AHHHHHH!"

The scream was heard from all over the ship.

"RENA! RENA! What's wrong?!" Haruka shrieked after hearing her best friend scream.

"I-it's R-Reizo…" Rena stammered. "I-I opened his d-door, and he was j-just lying there… There was thi-this knife in him… I... H-He's dead!"

"Let us check. Everyone, stay here!" Jet and Haruo rushed off to Reizo's room. They came back a few minutes later.

"A-Ah, he really is dead," Haruo muttered. _Stabbed in such a horrible way..._

"Oh my goodness! He's really… dead? I-I better go tell Master Sora…" Sonata jumped off her stool.

"Please, no, Sonata. Allow me. Stay here and comfort the guests," Shizuka stood up and left.

"I can't believe it. Who would do such a thing?!" Jet angrily grumbled.

"I don't know. What do you think?" Haruka swerved around to face Akie, the stranger to everyone on the ship.

"Well, it must've been someone on this cruise… One of us…"

The weight of her words hung in the air. But Akie was right, and everyone knew it.

"First of all, we need to find out who killed Reizo," Setsu spoke, breaking the silence.

"Well… Don't you think this Sora person is a bit strange…?" Haruka mumbled.

"Oh my god, yes, he is! It was weird how he always stuck to Reizo… Oh, why did I let him come on this cruise?!" Rena cried out, bursting into tears. Haruka rushed over to comfort her. _Who had killed Reizo...?_

"Now, now, we can't be hasty. Who else is suspicious?" Jet asked.

"I don't like how that butler… Shizaku or Shizoka or whatever it was… He just didn't seem worried. Wouldn't you be at least a bit shaken if someone was murdered?" Haruka suggested.

Sonata said nothing, and just sat still on her stool.

"How about you, Rena? Where were you?" Setsu asked.

"I was eating cheesecake with Haruka, and then I left to check up on Reizo…"

"So you were alone when you found him? You could've killed him then!" Haruo said.

"Don't accuse my friend like that, you jerk!" Haruka screamed.

"Calm down, everyone!" Jet yelled. _Couples fighting is such a pain. They get so into it..._

"Let me just get the facts straight," Akie took command of the situation, since she loved detective novels and wanted to solve this murder quickly. "Where were all of you when this happened...?"

After some interrogating, Akie finally found out where everyone was.

Rena and Haruka were eating cheesecake together in the dining hall. Rena got worried about Reizo since he was taking a long time away. She left Haruka to check on him by herself. Sonata was serving the cheesecake at the time.

Shizuka was with Setsu. Setsu had found him quite charming, and they talked with each other together in the lounge.

Jet and Haruo were having a drinking contest, like usual, in the game room. Akie had been with them at the time...

"Huh… Just curious, but where is Sora…?" Jet looked around.

Shizuka rushed back into the room. "My apologies, but I couldn't find Master Sora anywhere!"

"That settles it! Sora must be guilty!" Haruka cried out.

"His disappearance is indeed mysterious..." Jet said. "Now, let's go, everyone! We need to find Sora immediately!

The group spread out in different directions. Rena and Haruka left to the lounge. Shizuka and Setsu ran to the game room. Sonata looked in the hallway. Haruo and Jet went to the dining hall together.

Akie, shivering, wandered into her own suite to grab a coat. But something felt off in the room. Something was wrong. It was unusually cold, and she felt goosebumps on her arms. _In the closet._

She opened the closet, and Sora's dead body fell out


	3. Chapter 2

"Everyone, come quickly!" Akie shouted out of her bedroom door.

Sonata was the first to arrive. "What's wrong, miss?" Akie explained the situation.

"Master Sora is dead too?! Oh my!" Sonata gasped, covering her mouth with one hand.

"Wh-what?!" a voice said behind them.

It was Shizuka. "Master is dead?! B-but how?!"

"I think it was poison. There was no blood or injury anywhere…" Akie replied. Poison…? Now who on this boat would have access to that…?

Haruo and Jet came panting. "Another death, huh.." Jet murmured.

Rena and Haruka followed behind them. "What happened?! Sora is dead?!" Rena shrieked.

"T-Then who is the murderer?!" Haruka shivered.

"Well, Sora could still be the murderer. Maybe he poisoned himself after killing… Reizo…" Haruo whispered the last word. He didn't want Rena to start bawling again…

"Or he could've had an accomplice," Shizuka said, recovering from his shock. "It's quite common these days… The accomplice could've backstabbed him and then put him in the closet. I don't think Sora could've poisoned himself and then hide in Akie's closet…"

The group looked at her. "You… You said he was in your closet…?" Haruo asked in a somewhat accusing voice.

"Calm down," Akie warned him. "He was indeed in my closet. But I definitely didn't kill him."

"She's right," Rena agreed. "She was with us the whole time, so she couldn't have killed him without us knowing… Right…?"

The rest of the group glanced at each other nervously… Still uncertain…

"If I may ask, does anyone know where Setsu is?" Sonata suddenly broke the silence.

"Strange… Where is she? She should've come running with us when Akie shouted," Jet's eyebrows furrowed together in deep thought.

"Let's look for her in groups. Haruka and Rena, go to the hall. Jet and I will go to the kitchen. And you three," Haruo pointed to Shizuka, Sonata and Akie. "Go to the lounge."

They all left to their positions. It was not long after that they heard a scream.

Everyone ran towards the scream. It came from the hallway.

"S-Setsu! She's dead!" Rena moaned. "Are we all going to die, like Reizo?!"

Setsu was sprawled on the floor near the stairs in a strange way. There was blood on her forehead.

"Shush, Rena, shush…" Haruka tried comforting her. "It's going to be fine… I'm here too. Don't worry…"

"Is she really dead?" Jet asked. He went over to check her pulse. "None…" he muttered.

"It's true…" Shizuka whispered as he checked Setsu's pulse.

"How did she die, then?" Sonata said.

"Fell from the stairs, I suppose," Haruo replied. "There's no stabbing, and look, there's a wound on her forehead. It's possible to die that way, I think."

"Or… pushed."

"What?" Haruo swerved around to ask Rena, who was crouching on the floor with her hands in her face.

"She could've… been pushed, right…?" Rena whimpered.

"W-Why, yes, she could've been…" Haruo said uncomfortably. Who knew Rena could have such horrific ideas?

Haruka came over to Setsu's body and put a blanket over her. "This is the least we can do," she said. "I covered the others as well."

Akie stared at Haruka thoughtfully.

"Alright, everyone, let's go to the lounge. We can discuss from there," Jet took command.

And so they went to the lounge, feeling miserable and very, very uncomfortable indeed.


End file.
